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29 June 2007

Slicing and dicing

It's a beautiful day... to celebrate diversity.
-- CAIRO, Egypt -- The death of a 12-year-old Egyptian girl at the hands of a doctor performing female circumcision in the country's south has sparked a public outcry and prompted health and religious authorities this week to ban the practice.

The case sparked widespread condemnation and was closely followed in Egyptian papers, which also reported that Shaker had passed out sweets to pupils in her class earlier on the day of her death, to celebrate her good grades.

It also evoked memories of a 1995 CNN television documentary depicting a barber circumcising a 10-year-old girl in a Cairo slum.
Sorry... some aspects of our culture are inarguably superior to the third world.

Maybe that's why so many people want to live here.

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RELATED: Do the right thing

Norway steps up...
-- OSLO, June 29 (Reuters) -- Norway took steps on Friday to crack down on circumcision of girls by barring families from travelling abroad if officials suspect they plan to have the procedure done outside the country.

The intervention followed reports in Norwegian media that at least 185 girls from Norway -- daughters of immigrants -- had their genitals cut in just one village in Somalia.

The government said it would refuse passports to families suspected of sending girls abroad to have the procedure carried out. Authorities can also forbid a family from travelling if they suspect the purpose is female circumcision, officials said.

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